Navigating the adoption process
A brief look at the procedural steps in adoption, from start to finish
By Focus on the Family Canada staff
Whether you adopt privately, publically or internationally, many aspects of the adoption process are the same.
If you are considering adoption, here are some of the procedural steps you’ll take in your adoption journey:
- Information session – In this introductory meeting you’ll learn about the process and have your initial questions answered in a group setting;
- Application – This may include an interview with an adoption professional in a more personal setting;
- Training – Click here for more details;
- Home assessment – Click here for a detailed description;
- Approval to adopt – Waiting for a match officially begins;
- Match is proposed – Adopting parents receive information and counselling about the child proposed, including the child’s known social, family and medical information. Parents need to prayerfully discern if this child is a good match with their family from their perspective;
- Bringing the child home – Depending on the type of adoption, a family will wait for the baby’s birth, negotiate gradual entry of a foster child into their family, or await legal finalization of an international adoption and travel to bring the child home;
- Becoming a family – It takes work to become a family. Click here for more advice on this stage.
© 2011 Focus on the Family (Canada) Association. All rights reserved.